


Churros and Milkshakes

by padalelli



Category: Imagine Dragons (Band)
Genre: 30 Lives, Churros, Concert, Emma - Freeform, Gen, Terraplane Sun, Tokyo - Freeform, hipster concert, imagine dragons, merch, vanilla bean milkshake, woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 22:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2324684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padalelli/pseuds/padalelli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhea listened to Imagine Dragons before anyone ever knew who they were. But that's not they only relationship she has with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Churros and Milkshakes

**Author's Note:**

> IMAGINE DRAGONS ARE NOT MINE, I'M JUST USING THEM BECAUSE I LOVE THEM.

It was the very first time she had gone to an Imagine Dragons concert. They still weren’t very well known, despite the fact that when she got the tickets, less than a dozen others had been sold. The concert was at a small outdoor amphitheater and she went alone. She only got there fifteen minutes before they were supposed to go on, but the opening act, Terraplane Sun, had already started. She ran onto the grass, finding a small place close to the stage where she could fit.  
She had been to concerts before, but this Imagine Dragons concert, this small event that had only a double digit number of spectators, this concert was the best night of her life. And that was before it ended. After it was over, she went over to the merch stand, hoping to find a band tee that would soon be worth much more. She purchased a shirt and Terraplane Sun EP. As she handed the cashier the money, the cashier leaned over and pointed to a guy holding a beer. He wasn’t hard to find considering many of the attendees had already left. “I think that guy is from the band,” the cashier said.  
She took a double take and recognized the guitarist of Terraplane Sun, Johnny Zambetti. She looked back to the cashier and smiled. “Thanks!” she said excitedly. She took her CD and shirt and skipped over to Johnny. She considered just walking past him because she was so nervous.  
Johnny caught a glimpse of the CD in her hand and said, “Hope you like the album.”  
“I already heard your songs earlier, they were awesome,” she said nervously. “Can you sign it?” she asked Johnny.  
“I’ll do you one better, I’ll take you backstage to meet the band,” Johnny said.  
“Wait, really?” She barely knew anything about Terraplane Sun and their music, but she was starstruck at the thought of meeting them.  
“You want to?” Johnny asked. She nodded eagerly and Johnny led her to a tent behind the stage, where she saw the other four members of Terraplane Sun. “Hey guys, here’s the fan of the night,” he said when she entered.  
“I’m Rhea,” she stammered nervously.  
“You a musician, Rhea?” the lead singer asked her.  
“Little bit, yeah,” she said softly, nodding.  
“What do you play?” another member asked.  
“Um, I mainly sing, but I’m dabbling with the piano.” She fiddled with her merchandise in her hands.  
Someone threw back the entrance to the tent and entered. When Rhea looked up, she saw him. Him, her idol. Dan Reynolds. She froze. “Hey, do you guys have a…” Dan trailed off when he saw the strange girl in the tent. “I take it you picked up another hipster?” he directed his question to Johnny. It must’ve been a frequent thing.  
“Uh huh,” Johnny said, swallowing a gulp of beer. “This is Rhea.”  
She was still frozen. She managed to hold up her hand and give a weak wave. “Hi,” she choked out. Dan was her role model. His picture was the wallpaper of her phone. She was meeting him. Holy crap, he was right there in front of her.  
He walked over to her and held out his hand. “Dan. Nice to meet you,” he said with a smile.  
“You have no idea,” she said, getting a handle on what was happening. What was actually happening. “I love your music. Emma is like… wow. And Tokyo, oh my gosh. But thirty lives… thirty lives!” She began to ramble.  
“Yeah. Well, we were just about to eat dinner, Rhea if you have extra time, you should hang out for a bit.”  
“What? Really?” she asked, back to being starstruck.  
“Yeah, come on.” Dan led her over to another tent, this one filled with food. “Here,” he said, picking up something wrapped in aluminum foil and handing it to her before grabbing a clear plastic cup and dispensing a vanilla bean milkshake from a machine. She unwrapped the aluminum and found a churro inside before he handed the milkshake to her. “Dip the churro in the milkshake,” he said.  
“What?” she asked.  
“Just try it,” he told her. She shrugged and took a piece of the churro and generously covered it in the milkshake. Then she ate it and smiled.  
After she swallowed, she said, “Wow. That is like heaven.”  
“Isn’t it?” Dan asked her. “So what did I hear about you being a musician?”  
“Oh, so you were eavesdropping,” she said. “Um, I sing a little. I’m learning piano now, too.”  
“Really? Let’s hear.”  
Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “Good morning my love, it’s been a while since we have talked and you have grown, your eyes are older than the tallest tree you see, cause thirty lives can be extraordinarily long,” she sang. Her voice was a perfect feminine imitation of Dan’s.  
“Wow, you have some pipes,” Dan told her.  
“Really? Thanks,” she said. She had never felt such happiness.  
“What’s your contact information?” Dan asked, whipping out his phone. “We might need you sometime.”  
*//*  
It had been four months since the concert when she got a call from an unknown number. “Hello?” she answered.  
“Hey, Rhea. It’s Dan. Reynolds.” Her jaw dropped.


End file.
